About Us

About Green River

Overview

Green River College is a public college where students from all over the world come together to learn, grow and enrich their lives. Green River’s main campus, founded in Auburn’s Lea Hill neighborhood in 1965, stretches over 180 acres of beautifully forested land. Branch campuses, located in downtown Auburn, Kent and Enumclaw, bring the college’s unique educational experiences to local communities.

Strong academics, solid student services, a diverse and lively campus community and new facilities combine at Green River to provide students a one-of-kind education with lessons that will stay with them throughout their lives.

Our History

The roots of Green River College stretch back to 1945, when the Auburn School District started a program of adult evening education, which soon became the largest in Washington state. The popularity of the program convinced citizens from the surrounding communities that the Green River Valley needed its own community college. Local committees began working to secure state approval to start a community college in 1959. In 1963, the determination of local citizens paid off when the Washington State Board of Education approved the community college.

Green River's professional and technical program began in September 1964 at a location near the Auburn Boeing plant. A year later, Green River opened its doors at its present location on Lea Hill, east of Auburn. This favorable location is easy to reach from local communities and is a 40-minute drive from either Seattle or Tacoma. With increasing demand for higher education, Green River has opened satellite campuses in Kent and Enumclaw.

Green River's service area is defined as District 10 by the 1967 Washington State Legislature; the college is governed by a five-member board of trustees. Financial support comes from state appropriations and student tuition.